The Explosion in the Cinema: The Sacrilegious Shock
The cinema room literally explodes with fury and stupor.
Athena leaps to her feet, her Aegis appearing in her hand, her face crimson with shock. "Me? The soulmate of a mortal? In another universe? This is an insult to my wisdom, to my eternal virginity!"
Poseidon bursts into a yellow, almost hysterical laugh: "My niece and a Pegasus knight... What delicious irony!"
Hades looks at the ceiling, his mind fogged: "Friends with a human... and my niece bound to him... This Universe 17 is pure chaos."
Zeus shouts: "Archbishop! This is a lie to humiliate us!"
The Archbishop does not bat an eye. He looks at Athena with calm contempt.
— "Your 'virginity' is merely a rule of this universe. In Universe 17, you learned that love for a human is the greatest of wisdoms. You mourned him for centuries."
He turns to the screen where Percy closes the book, his face livid.
— "Look closely at Percy. He is not laughing at you. He realizes that if a human as powerful as Tenma ended up suffering like this, what hope remains for him?"
The image shows Percy leaning against the shelves, short of breath.
"If even a goddess of wisdom was broken by this bond... how can I hope to protect Nyx and Chaos from myself?"
With an elegant gesture, the Archbishop snaps his fingers. The space around the chair where Percy is sleeping widens. The floor becomes covered with Persian rugs of infinite softness, and cushions of black and red silk appear to support the young man's body, which now seems to float in a cocoon of absolute comfort.
The Archbishop turns to the two Primordials, his voice becoming soft but imperious.
— "Approach, Nyx, Chaos. The bond is awakened, there is no more reason to keep your distance. Feel his essence. He will not burn you, for he is a part of you."
The two deities approach, almost timidly, their auras intertwining above the sleeper. A strange warmth, neither divine nor mortal, begins to emanate from Percy.
Then, the Archbishop straightens up and faces the assembly of Gods and Titans, his gaze sweeping the room.
The Vote of Olympus
— "We have arrived at a fork in the archives of the Forbidden Library," announces the Archbishop. "The destiny of Universe 17 and this Pegasus Knight is linked to Percy's through suffering, but it is a bloody story."
He raises his hand, making two luminous symbols appear above the screen:
The Bronze Lightning Bolt: Skip Percy's reading and return immediately to his awakening and his confrontation with his destiny.
The Bloody Pegasus: Show the vision of Tenma, Athena, and Hades in Universe 17 to understand the extent of what a human soulmate can do to a God.
— "Vote," he orders. "Every voice counts, from the smallest deity to the greatest God."
The Votes
Athena: "I want to see!" she cries, her eyes burning with curiosity and dread. "If another version of me loved a mortal, I must understand how her 'wisdom' survived that." (Vote: Show)
Zeus: "Enough of these tales! Let's get back to the kid! I want to know what he plans to do with us!" (Vote: Skip)
Poseidon: "I want to see what happens to humans who become too powerful. To know what awaits my son." (Vote: Show)
Nyx & Chaos: They say nothing, but their shadows stretch toward the Pegasus symbol. They want to know the price of this bond. (Vote: Show)
Ares & Hades: Fascinated by the idea of a war against Olympus in another world. (Vote: Show)
Result of the Vote: 85% for "Show"
The Archbishop nods.
— "Very well. Since you insist on seeing the tragedy of others before your own..."
The screen lights up with a pure white, then gives way to Greek columns shattered beneath a dark sky. We see a young man with disheveled hair, wearing winged bronze armor, facing a deity whose cosmos crushes everything in its path.
The vision of Universe 17 begins.
The screen lights up with a pure white, then gives way to a grainy, almost antique image. The air in the cinema becomes dry, charged with the smell of dust and blood from forgotten battlefields.
Universe 17 — The Cycle of the Holy War
The image shows rural Italy, centuries ago. We see a young boy, Tenma, running barefoot in the mud. He is dressed in rags, his face smeared with dirt, but his eyes... they have the same indomitable spark as Percy's.
— Archbishop: "In this universe, the Gods do not stay on their thrones. They descend. They reincarnate into human bodies, forgetting their glory to wage a war that repeats every two hundred and forty-three years. The Holy War between Athena and Hades."
The Trinity of Destiny
We see three children holding hands under a large tree:
Tenma: The poor orphan, a brawler but with a pure heart.
Alone: A young painter with an angelic face, who will become the receptacle of Hades.
Sasha: A sweet little girl, who is none other than the reincarnation of Athena.
Cinema Reactions
Athena leans forward, fascinated by this version of herself, so vulnerable. "I grow up with my enemies? And with the human who is my soulmate?"
Hades observes young Alone. "Using a painter to destroy the world... That's cruelly poetic."
Ares growls: "Why does this Athena need a winged knight? Where is her own strength?"
The Miracle of Pegasus
The vision accelerates. We see Tenma training to exhaustion, breaking rocks with his bare hands to awaken his Cosmos. He dons the bronze armor of Pegasus.
— Archbishop: "You believe your knights and your heroes are your servants. In Universe 17, Athena only wins because Pegasus is there. He is the only human capable of wounding the body of a God. He is the anomaly that balances the scales between two primordial deities."
We see an epic battle scene: Tenma, bathed in blood, his armor in pieces, getting back up to face a supremely powerful Hades. He does not retreat. He burns his vital energy to protect Sasha (Athena).
Cinema Reactions: The Shock of Power
Zeus clenches his fists. "A human who wounds a God? That's an abomination!"
Nyx murmurs: "It's not physical strength. It's the bond. He draws his power from his love for Athena."
Chaos observes with growing interest. "Pegasus is to Athena what Percy is to us..."
The Secret of Eternal Victory
The image shows Sasha holding Tenma's hand on the battlefield. They do not look at each other like a goddess and her subject, but like two souls who have sought each other across the centuries.
— Archbishop: "In each reincarnation, they love each other, and each time, they must sacrifice themselves to win against Hades. Athena does not win through strategy. She wins because her soulmate, the poorest and simplest human, is ready to kill the Gods for her."
Athena in the room lets out a trembling sigh. She sees her counterpart kiss Tenma's forehead before they disappear in an explosion of light to seal Hades away.
The screen darkens slightly, returning to Percy in the library, who has just finished reading this passage. He closes the book with manifest terror.
— Percy: "Tenma had to die and be reborn constantly to protect Athena... If I am like him, is my destiny to spend eternity dying so that Nyx and Chaos can remain on their thrones?"
The Archbishop looks at the spectators.
— "You have seen Universe 17. You have seen that even a 'simple' human can bring the Gods to their knees if he is a soulmate."
The screen darkens to give way to a filthy alley in Universe 17. We see Sasha and Alone (the reincarnations of Athena and Hades) surrounded by brutal assailants. Before the worst can happen, Tenma bursts in like a storm. He fights with the fury of a lion, receiving blows, bleeding, but never retreating.
Once the assailants flee, the three friends take refuge by the edge of a sparkling river, their sanctuary of peace.
The Promise by the Water's Edge
The image is of a melancholic beauty. Sasha tends to Tenma's wounds, crying, while Alone lowers his eyes, gnawed by guilt over his own weakness.
Tenma: "Don't cry. As long as I am here, no one will touch you. I will be your shield, no matter what."
Cinema Reactions
Athena clutches her chest, her eyes shining with tears she forbids herself from shedding. "He suffers for her, and she doesn't even know he is her other half..."
Hades watches the bond between Alone and Tenma with infinite sadness. "They love each other like brothers, unaware that they are destined to kill each other."
Chaos and Nyx move even closer to the sleeping Percy, terrified by the idea that their own bond could lead to such sacrifice.
The Revelation of the Sacred Artifact
The vision jumps forward four years. Sasha has been taken to the Sanctuary. Tenma and Alone remain alone, growing up in the shadow of the approaching war. Tenma, at the end of his mental strength, finally consults a sacred artifact of the Archbishop.
The truth explodes on the screen, shaking the foundations of the cinema.
The Tragedy of Persephone
In Universe 17, the war is not a matter of justice, but of vengeance.
Hades was the most powerful, surpassing Zeus and Poseidon combined. Out of fear, Olympus tried to eliminate him. They failed, but they massacred his wife, Persephone, and his closest friends. Hades is not a villain; he is a enraged widower who wants to raze Olympus for this crime. Only Athena, aided by the raw power of Pegasus, was able to stop him century after century.
The Final Shock: The Forbidden Reincarnation
Tenma searches for Persephone's soul in the artifact, hoping that her return will calm Hades. But the Archbishop places a hand on his shoulder.
Archbishop: "Tenma... look closely. Persephone made a vow before dying. She wanted to return not as a queen, but as a servant, to protect her best friend Athena and the man she loved, Hades."
The image shows Persephone's soul transforming... and slipping into the body of a poor little boy.
That boy is Tenma.
Cinema Reactions: Absolute Chaos
The silence that follows is deafening before the room explodes.
Hades stands up, his face livid, looking at the screen with pure horror. "Pegasus... the knight who fights me every century... is actually the soul of my wife? Olympus forces us to kill each other?"
Persephone, seated beside Hades, almost faints from the shock.
Zeus recoils, terrified by the cruelty of his Universe 17 counterparts. "They turned love into a cyclical weapon of war..."
Athena is petrified. "I kill the man I love using the soul of my friend as a shield..."
Nyx turns to the Archbishop, her eyes burning with primordial rage: "Is this what you are showing us? That soulmates are the playthings of tragedy?"
The screen returns to Percy in the library, who drops the book. He trembles. He now understands why his blood is "sick." It's not just the bond with Nyx and Chaos. It's that in every universe, the soulmate is the one who carries all the pain so that the Gods can exist.
Percy looks at his red hands.
"I am not a hero. I am a victim waiting for his turn."
The cinema screen seems to lose its substance, as if the very reality of the image were becoming fragile, transparent. The music transforms into a dull hum, that of a universe being erased.
The Ultimate Sacrifice of the Pegasus Knight
On screen, Tenma remains prostrate for ten minutes. The silence is punctuated by his muffled sobs. He looks at his hands, those of Persephone, those of Pegasus, those of a simple orphan. He looks up at his guide.
— Tenma: "Will you help me? I don't want Sasha to kill the man she loves anymore. I don't want Alone to be a monster of vengeance anymore. I want them to be free."
The Archbishop places a hand on his shoulder. His face is marked by millennial sadness.
— "I guide, Tenma. And I always will. Even if I would prefer to see you happy... I accept your choice."
The Great Erasure
Under the horrified eyes of the cinema spectators, Tenma and the Archbishop begin the ritual of rewriting reality. Tenma uses his essence as a divine soulmate and the remnants of Persephone's soul to weave a new fabric.
Reality tears apart and recomposes itself:
Sasha and Alone are still together, but the pain of the Holy War evaporates from their memory. They no longer meet a poor little boy named Tenma. In his place, a rich, radiant, protective young girl named Persephone enters their lives. She fascinates them, loves them, and fills the void that Olympus had created.
Tenma, for his part, fades away. His silhouette becomes blurred, his memories dissolve into the wind of history.
He chooses to have never existed.